As you follow the trails around Thorncombe Wood and Black Heath, you will come across many places that were engrained in the young Thomas Hardy’s mind and translated into the sentences and stanzas of his writing; from memories of walking the Roman Road with his mother, to the impact of witnessing an execution in Dorchester from Rainbarrows. Stop for a moment at Rushy Pond or wander through the gardens of Hardy’s Cottage. Using Hardy’s own words, imagine these places as he saw them, through the eyes of a boy who was to become one of England’s most important and loved writers. Walking through Hardy’s Landscape Snakes and efts, Swarmed in the summer days and nightly bats Would fly about our bedrooms. Heathcroppers Lived on the hills, and were our only friends; So wild it was when we first settled here. from ‘Domicilium’ There was something that Hardy found eerie and magical about the heathland. He made it home to his fictional Conjuror Trendle. This character represented the old, superstitious ways of the heath, which persisted within an increasingly urban and rationalising world. But no tall brass-helmeted legionnaire Haunts it for me. Uprises there A mother’s form upon my ken, Guiding my infant steps, as when We walked that ancient thoroughfare, The Roman Road. from ‘The Roman Road’ Hardy and his mother often walked the Roman Road to visit his aunt in Puddletown. He recalled one particular time carrying cabbage nets and pulling the nets over his face to scare his aunt when they arrived at her house. On the frigid face of the heath-hemmed pond There shaped the half-grown moon: Winged whiffs from the north with a husky croon Blew over and beyond. from ‘At Rushy-Pond’ Although at the top of a hill, Rushy Pond’s permanency in a landscape, where few other ponds survived the summer, meant that it was, and remains, a hub of all things Hardy cherished about the heathland; the ponies, snakes and dragonflies. Roman Road We do not discern those eyes Watching in the snow; Lit by lamps of rosy dyes We do not discern those eyes Wondering, aglow, Fourfooted, tiptoe. from ‘The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House’ Hardy was fascinated with wildlife, in particular its effect and impact on the landscape. Later in life, Hardy’s love of wildlife developed into a desire to protect all creatures, and he became an active campaigner against animal cruelty. Woodland Rushy Pond The landscape through Hardy’s eyes Heathland Hardy’s Cottage Here is the ancient floor, Footworn and hollowed and thin, Here was the former door Where the dead feet walked in. She sat here in her chair, Smiling into the fire; He who played stood there, Bowing it higher and higher. from ‘The Self-Unseeing’ Hardy’s great-grandfather built this cottage, and Hardy lived here with his parents, siblings and grandmother. In later life, he fondly recalled a childhood memory of being surrounded by his family and dancing in the parlour, as his father played the fiddle. We hope you enjoy your visit. Dorset County Council and the National Trust. The Thomas Hardy Society is pleased to support the National Trust in its work to promote and maintain Thomas Hardy’s homes. The society welcomes all who are interested in the life and work of Thomas Hardy. An annual programme of events includes lectures and meetings, poetry readings, musical events, walks and tours in ‘Wessex’. The Dorset County Museum is proud to support the National Trust in the presentation of Thomas Hardy’s homes. The Thomas Hardy collection at Dorset County Museum is part of the UNESCO UK ‘Memory of the World’ register of important literary heritage. Visit the Writers’ Dorset gallery to see Hardy’s manuscripts of poems and novels, letters, photographs and architectural drawings. Printed on 100% recycled paper. Please recycle this leaflet after use. Cover image by Hardy’s sister, Mary Hardy, by kind permission of Dorset County Museum. The National Trust is a registered charity no. 205846